Ezri was just too darn cute. One time I had just bought one of those Star Trek Magazines and Ezri was on the cover. A friend saw it, and his first words were "She's cute!"

Ezri was so cute, you just wanted to pick her up and take her home and-- well, she was cute.

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She was cute. I wouldn't presume to deny that. My main objection to Ezri was... what exactly did she bring to the table? Sure she helped Sisko get over his depression, and was a love interest for Bashir. Beyond that it just felt they rammed her down our throats, often distracting from the intense arcs of season 7, for no apparent reason except to give her tons of screen time as if to compensate for her not being around the first six seasons. Really you could've accomplished the same with a guest star that appeared for a few episodes.

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Oh, well said! I still remember the look on my husband's face every time an Ezri-centric episode played. He would glare at the screen, then look at me and exclaim, "Really?, really? There is so much that they need to address before the end...and they are wasting time on her...again?!"

We were both wishing that they had killed Dax outright midway through the season so we could have seen more of the characters and arcs that we considered important.

Come on, there aren't many "Ezri-centric episodes". There were basically only three - "Afterimage", "Prodigal Daughter" and "Field of Fire".

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Combine these with the amount of screen time she received in general and valuable time was wasted that should have been put to better use. I do feel like she was rammed down our throats and the story arcs had to be rushed to completion leading up to the finale.

Don't get me wrong. I don't hate her (anymore! ). I just think she took the focus away from the important plot arcs that needed to be addressed before the series ended.

I just finished a summer-long DS9 re-watch tonight; the first time I've seen the series since it aired. I dreaded the Jadzia-Ezri changeover. Terry Farrell, you see, managed to hit almost all of my "she's hot" buttons back in those days, and Ezri was good, but only "cute" in comparison.

But this time, I enjoyed Ezri a lot more. She seemed played by a more competent actor than Jadzia, and it was fun to watch the Trill dynamics of a new face with the old memories work their way through all the characters over several episodes. As Greg Cox points out, it's a lot like the Doctor regenerating, you can't simply ignore it. And DS9 focused a lot on the characters. If they'd brought in another Dax and didn't show how the established characters integrated her back into their relationships, it would have been a huge cheat.

However ...

About halfway through the final season's fourth episode, it suddenly occurred to me that Ezri should have been a man. It isn't just rebirth in a new host that makes the Trill symbionts interesting, they can also change sex. This was explored a bit in the Next Gen episode, "The Host", and Dr. Crusher wasn't able to keep up with it.

I'd go even further. If we're gonna explore this, let's drop all pretence of metaphor and just make the Ezri host homosexual. Or at least open to the feelings he recently had for Worf and/or Julian. In the 90s, homosexuality was still a bit taboo, and contrasting this with the Trill taboo of continuing the relationships of the previous host would be neat. Watching Worf and Julian react to that would have been fascinating. He wouldn't have to be over-the-top. Perhaps he wouldn't even have to be overtly homosexual. But he'd still have to resolve his feelings for Worf.

It's interesting that the talented crew behind DS9 missed this opportunity. Especially given the hints at lesbian relationships in several episodes. I'm sure this must have occurred to someone, but I wonder why they shot it down.

Ezri was just too darn cute. One time I had just bought one of those Star Trek Magazines and Ezri was on the cover. A friend saw it, and his first words were "She's cute!"

Ezri was so cute, you just wanted to pick her up and take her home and-- well, she was cute.

Click to expand...

She was cute. I wouldn't presume to deny that. My main objection to Ezri was... what exactly did she bring to the table? Sure she helped Sisko get over his depression, and was a love interest for Bashir. Beyond that it just felt they rammed her down our throats, often distracting from the intense arcs of season 7, for no apparent reason except to give her tons of screen time as if to compensate for her not being around the first six seasons. Really you could've accomplished the same with a guest star that appeared for a few episodes.

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She inserted the idea into Worf's brain that the Klingon Empire needed significant change. That is a big deal I would say. It also kind of wrapped up the Dax/Klingon arc that permeated throughout the series.

It's mainly because of that scene in Tacking into the Wind that I like Ezri. It lead to Worf killing Gowron and brought the whole Klingon story to the best conclusion of any story in the series. That and she was a fun character in her own way.

About halfway through the final season's fourth episode, it suddenly occurred to me that Ezri should have been a man. It isn't just rebirth in a new host that makes the Trill symbionts interesting, they can also change sex. This was explored a bit in the Next Gen episode, "The Host", and Dr. Crusher wasn't able to keep up with it.

I'd go even further. If we're gonna explore this, let's drop all pretence of metaphor and just make the Ezri host homosexual. Or at least open to the feelings he recently had for Worf and/or Julian. In the 90s, homosexuality was still a bit taboo, and contrasting this with the Trill taboo of continuing the relationships of the previous host would be neat. Watching Worf and Julian react to that would have been fascinating. He wouldn't have to be over-the-top. Perhaps he wouldn't even have to be overtly homosexual. But he'd still have to resolve his feelings for Worf.

It's interesting that the talented crew behind DS9 missed this opportunity. Especially given the hints at lesbian relationships in several episodes. I'm sure this must have occurred to someone, but I wonder why they shot it down.

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I absolutely agree. I really liked Ezri, more than I liked Jadzia, but Jadzia's successor should have been male. There's just too much dramatic potential in that idea. However, while DS9 was fairly edgy for a 1990s Star Trek show, it still played it pretty safe more often than not. And if the new Dax had been male, then Nana Visitor would have been the only female regular on the show. That probably played a part in it, too.

If Dax had become male, that scene where Ezri and Worf were stranded on a planet after she went looking for him and they wind up in each other's arms might have been played quite differently.

They probably could have used a third female character from the beginning, but the problem would have been where to put her. Odo? Then both main Bajoran contacts would have been female. A female Quark wouldn't work if females weren't allowed to participate in business. A female Starfleet doctor would have been a repeat of Beverly. O'Brien was there to pull TNG fans. That leaves Sisko, and TPTB weren't ready for a female leader yet.

If Dax had become male, that scene where Ezri and Worf were stranded on a planet after she went looking for him and they wind up in each other's arms might have been played quite differently.

They probably could have used a third female character from the beginning, but the problem would have been where to put her. Odo? Then both main Bajoran contacts would have been female. A female Quark wouldn't work if females weren't allowed to participate in business. A female Starfleet doctor would have been a repeat of Beverly. O'Brien was there to pull TNG fans. That leaves Sisko, and TPTB weren't ready for a female leader yet.

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I still think the bettef answer would have been to elevate the status of Yates. She did work for the Bajoran government. She could have been given responsibilities that reflected the planet's role in the war (or its response thereto).

One problem I have with saying that Ezri was a horrible character is that DeBoer was a much better actres than Farrell--they were at least equals at doing light comedy/romance.

I liked the idea of Ezri, but they should not have intoduced her as a full time character in the last season of a show that already had a ton of loose ends to wrap up. I can understand giving her a 2-3 episode arc to give some closure to Jadzia, but then she needed to go away. Nicole DeBoer did a nice job with the character, but the character was largely unnecessary at that time.

Needless to say...I completely disagree with the OP. Ezri is one of my favorite characters in the Trek universe. She was needed, thematically, as the show hadn't had her kind of personality on a regular basis in a LONG time. Story-wise, her presence was a constant symbolic reminder in the final season that "life marches on"--an element of hope, that the darkness is temporary--that "we will recover".

And as a straight guy with a thing for said kind of personality, I'm glad she wasn't a guy. Besides...while I'm all for "dramatic potential", the simple fact was the series was almost over. No need to make things more complicated than they had to be. Better to give emotional closure to the characters--Sisko, Worf, and Bashir in particular, but also Quark. Sisko had to overcome the depression he got after losing Jadzia...and the other three had to deal with their respective relationships/feelings involving Dax. Somehow, I doubt the Ninth Dax being a man would've helped much, on that.

Needless to say...I completely disagree with the OP. Ezri is one of my favorite characters in the Trek universe. She was needed, thematically, as the show hadn't had her kind of personality on a regular basis in a LONG time. Story-wise, her presence was a constant symbolic reminder in the final season that "life marches on"--an element of hope, that the darkness is temporary--that "we will recover".

And as a straight guy with a thing for said kind of personality, I'm glad she wasn't a guy. Besides...while I'm all for "dramatic potential", the simple fact was the series was almost over. No need to make things more complicated than they had to be. Better to give emotional closure to the characters--Sisko, Worf, and Bashir in particular, but also Quark. Sisko had to overcome the depression he got after losing Jadzia...and the other three had to deal with their respective relationships/feelings involving Dax. Somehow, I doubt the Ninth Dax being a man would've helped much, on that.

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Very well said.

As I stated earlier, I did not like her at first but came to like her later. Probably for the very reasons you have stated. The show handled the change very well.

i just realized every thread here will have some sort of spoilers. I've just finished season 1, watching every episode as an adult (more or less adult) is different than seeing snatches here and there as a kid.